TAMPA, Florida Aug 19 (AFP) - Two Florida residents have contracted the HIV virus from blood transfusions, the second such incident since US authorities imposed stricter rules on testing of blood samples in 1999, a spokesman for the blood bank said Friday.
"We followed all safety procedures; that's how we found the cases of infection," said Daniel Eberts, spokesman for Florida Blood Services, a Tampa, Florida blood bank that collects 90,000 liters (180,000 pints) of blood a year.
The infected blood was traced back to a donor who was told by the blood bank in May that his blood tested positive for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS.
Five others received blood from the same donor, two of whom are undergoing blood exams. Florida Blood Services is trying to track down the other three.
The only previous incident of the kind reported since stringent blood testing procedures went into effect in 1999 occurred in September in Texas.
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